The former Everton and Bolton defender condemned Steve McClaren's men as "thick, long-ball merchants" ahead of Saturday's Euro 2008 qualifier with Israel at Wembley.

Tal, back home in Jerusalem, will be part of an Israeli side looking to avoid defeat against their much-lauded opponents - something which would throw England's hopes of reaching Austria and Switzerland next summer into serious doubt.

Yet Manchester United star Hargreaves, who is expected to overcome a long-standing knee problem to feature in the Three Lions midfield, cannot take Tal's comments seriously - partly because he does not believe they are true and also because the source of the attack is completely unknown to him.

"I don't know who he is or what he meant by it but it is obviously a poor comment," said Hargreaves.

"Obviously, when you are at the top, people sometimes want to say things and try to bring you down by making headlines or provoking a reaction.

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"It doesn't really bother me. If you look at our team and theirs, I know which one I would prefer to watch and which one I would prefer to have. We have some of the best players in the world in our squad."

After struggling to make an appearance for United in pre-season, Hargreaves has three Barclays Premier League outings under his belt for Reds.

And, while the 26-year-old did not train yesterday and is yet to play two games in a week following his £18m summer switch from Bayern Munich, he spoke optimistically of featuring in both Saturday's encounter and the clash with Russia next Wednesday.

That, however, was before he complained of a thigh muscle injury yesterday afternoon for which a scan result is still awaited.

Steve McClaren will sweat on Hargreaves' fitness for games which have been labelled "must-win" by pundits who look at England lying in fourth spot in Group E and fear for their qualification chances.